A Missed Beat
by friendlyneighborhoodcanarystan
Summary: Defeat didn't taste as bad as he thought it would.


He didn't have to say anything to Neon for her to know that Weiss was his opponent and his alone. His parents would no doubt be watching the match. Flynt felt the anger and bitterness he'd always let simmer quietly from within him bubble to the surface. He'd bring Schnee to her knees.

Flynt finally came to a stop, Neon rollerblading to a stop next to him, all smiles as usual. Their opponents on the other side of the ring had yet to notice their presence, Flynt watching the duo converse amongst themselves. He saw Neon move from out the corner of his eye, the leader smiling as she casually rollerbladed about, the noise her skates made catching the attention of their opponents. They looked rather perplexed as they stared at them. Flynt smirked as he examined Weiss from beneath his shades. He'd be sure to give his parents and the audience a real show as he embarrassed Schnee.

He was honestly beginning to grow a little bored. And here he thought he'd get a satisfying victory. Oh well. Flynt smirked at the heiress as he got back to his feet. "Too bad all that money can't buy you skill."

The sneer on her face and angry stomp of her foot made his smirk widen. Flynt's gaze misted over slightly. He wondered if money would have saved his parents' marriage.

He had the spoiled heiress right where he wanted her. He smirked down at her as his foot pressed down on her weapon, eyes dancing with cold amusement as his weakened opponent helplessly reached out toward her weapon. It was over for Schnee.

Flynt perked up at a ruckus being made not too far away from where he stood. The trumpeter glanced over at his partner and her opponent, the faunus smiling brightly as she circled around Yang, taunts continuously leaving her lips. Flynt made sure to keep his foot pressed down on Weiss's weapon as he turned toward the twosome, three more copies of himself splitting from his body as he activated his semblance. Flynt and his clones had their respective mouthpieces at their lips, ready to blow on their instrument and send the impending explosion of lava hurtling toward Yang when a force suddenly knocked Flynt straight into the pillar of erupting lava.

Damn that heiress! Flynt stumbled about a bit, never feeling more grateful for his aura than at this very moment. He looked hollowly down at the girl's unconscious, soot covered form. It was a shame that he wasn't directly responsible for taking Schnee out but he'd get over it. The heiress's teammate was his main priority at the moment.

Flynt could never have predicted that his own soundwaves would be used against him, dread filling him when Yang closed both her hands around his trumpet's nozzle, his soundwaves catapulting him back into the sand. He growled in frustration as he laid in the sand, feeling utterly exhausted. Flynt closed his eyes, silently hoping that Neon would claim victory for their team. Neon's terrified shriek after what felt like a couple of minutes told Flynt all he needed to know. The buzzer signaling the end of the match finally sounded, Flynt getting to his feet, dusting himself off. He'd better go and make sure Neon was okay because he'd heard a pretty loud explosion before the buzzer went off.

Neon was already up and about when Flynt had made it over to her, the team leader giving into his fatigue and falling to his knees. He couldn't wait to take a nap. Maybe he'd call his mom afterwards.

"What!?" Flynt heard Neon screech. "We lost!? We lost!? Team FNKI lost!?"

Flynt was disappointed at their loss, too but he'd much rather Neon take it in stride than lash out.

"That was─" Neon paused, curling into herself for a moment before continuing, "That was… AMAZING!"

Flynt smiled slightly, feeling much more receptive to the attitude Neon was portraying. Flynt listened to Neon babble gracious compliments about their opponent's skills for a moment, rising to his feet as his talkative partner turned toward him.

"Right, Flynt?"

Flynt looked past Neon and directly at Weiss, trying to keep a smirk at bay. Schnee had come into battle looking so elegant, not a single crease to be found on her pristine white dress, hair in order, boots shined. One would think they were about to do battle with a princess rather than a huntress in training. Soot dirtied her from head to toe now. Daddy dearest must be feeling awful embarrassed of his precious heiress right now, the mere thought making Flynt's lips quirk.

"Sacrificial" would never be a word he'd use to describe a Schnee. And yet… The stunt she'd pulled had been reckless and "reckless" didn't seem to be a very fitting word for someone like her. Her rashness had impressed him, though.

"That was a gutsy move, Schnee," Flynt admitted. He went quiet, contemplating on throwing in a backhanded compliment but quickly decided against it. "I dig it."


End file.
